Summer Break Ideas for Your Students

Helping students come up with summer break ideas to help the college admissions process.

Featured Author:

Kathryn Knight Randolph

Since 2007, Kathryn has been working in higher education – first, as an admissions officer for DePauw University and now as a contributor to Fastweb.

Her work in this field has driven a passion for providing students with the most current advice on how to pay for school, navigate the college admissions process and manage the transition from high school to college student life.

Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, where she majored in English Writing and minored in Sociology and History.

She has been sharing her insights on Fastweb for nearly six years. Besides writing for Fastweb, Kathryn loves spending time with her family, traveling, running, reading the classics and cooking. Follow her on Google+ and/or Twitter at @KRandolph37.

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Your students may have already begun to approach you in a panic. They’ve looked all over the Internet and in local newspapers for summer internship and job opportunities, but the economy has left little to no choices for high school students.

How will this look on their college applications?

While they may not have work for the summer, there are plenty of other ways that students can make this summer count for college.

Test Prep

Students may balk as soon as you mention “test prep;” however, you should quickly follow up that it’s not what they think. Students can create a summer reading list from the College Board’s list of 101 Great Books. These novels can help formulate critical reading skills as well as shape writing techniques.

Students who want to begin working towards college credit or want to take classes not offered in the typical high school curriculum should consider summer school or early college programs. Registration for these programs is open now and students can expect to find deadlines coming up in May and June.

A summer project like this requires some research on the part of the student. Many colleges list summer program opportunities on their website. Students can typically apply directly on the site.

Study Abroad

Most students equate study abroad with the college experience, but it doesn’t have to wait until then. There is a plethora of learning abroad programs for high school students; and while it’s not an option for many students, it can be especially beneficial to those students that are passionate and curious about cultural and language learning experiences.

Most deadlines occur in May and June, but students need to be researching these study abroad opportunities right now. Direct them to sites like StudyAbroad.com and GoAbroad.com.

Campus Visits

Summer is prime time for college campus visits. The three-month break gives high school students ample time to explore their options, especially if they’re considering schools far from home. And if students are concerned that campus will seem bare without students, explain that isn’t the case.

There will always be a student presence on campus during the summer. Many students will be there conducting research, interning in school offices or working in the community.

It’s important to stress that students have to do something productive this summer. More and more, admission officers need reasons to separate students from the thousands of applications they receive with the same GPAs, test scores and extracurricular activities.

Summer is the perfect opportunity for students to separate themselves from other applicants through unique channels. They just need a little nudge from you.